Keene World Harmony Chorus to perform at Unitarian Universalist Church

Traditional American folksongs, rich Georgian chords, haunting Bulgarian harmonies, the toe-tapping call and response songs of Quebec, and an American premier of a folk song from Kyrgyzstan will all be part of a concert by the Keene World Harmony Chorus, on May 14th, 2014, at 7:30 PM, at the Keene Unitarian Universalist Church Parish Hall, 69 Washington Street, in Keene.

The World Harmony Chorus is a multi-age choir who loves unaccompanied singing, and particularly the chance to sing traditional folksongs from around the world. The chorus was started three years ago, and is led by Will Thomas Rowan and Lynn Mahoney Rowan of Marlboro, Vermont. The Rowans are accomplished singers and teachers, having toured with the world-famous youth chorus Village Harmony; and are currently among that group’s teachers. They have studied with Petrana Kucheva of Bulgaria, and Malkhaz Erkvanidae of the Republic of Georgia, and have just returned from a State Department goodwill tour of Angola, Turkemenistan, and Kyrgyzstan with their quartet, Windborne.

Members of the chorus live in and around the Monadnock region and southern Vermont.

All are amateurs, drawn together by their love of singing.

The concert is free, appropriate for all ages, and will be followed by light refreshments.

The Monadnock Folklore Society presents Windborne on Sunday, June 8 at 7:00 PM at the Louise Shonk Kelly Recital Hall on the campus of the Dublin School in Dublin, NH. Admission is $12/9(Sr/Jr).

Windborne is Lynn Mahoney Rowan, Will Thomas Rowan, Lauren Breunig, and Jeremy Carter-Gordon. All four have traveled extensively in the US and throughout the world with Village Harmony, Northern Harmony and the Renewal Chorus. They are seasoned performers and educators, who are adept at teaching music across cultural and linguistic divides. Windborne has toured New England several times, and in 2010 their vocal agility and power won them first place in Young Tradition Vermont’s Showcase Competition. Since then, they have appeared at folk festivals and concert venues around New England, and have taught workshops at universities in the northeast. In 2013, they were selected by the American Music Abroad program to do a State Department sponsored tour in Angola, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

Windborne has existed in many capacities throughout its 10+ year history, appearing as a duo, trio, and now, as a quartet. A group of vocal chameleons, they grew up in musical families, going to Shape Note sings, taking voice and instrumental lessons, and seeking out folk music in their communities and schools. As teenagers, they became enamored with world folk traditions at Village Harmony singing camps. Now, they draw upon their collective four decades of experience as performers and teachers to switch effortlessly between drastically different styles of singing within the same concert, all the while regaling the audience with their vocal energy and carefully crafted arrangements. Their repertoire includes music from the Republic of Georgia, Corsica, Bulgaria, the Basque region, and Quebec, but they remain deeply rooted in American folk singing traditions as well.

Over the past decade, they have sought out masters of traditional singing styles in the US and around the world to study a variety of vocal music. Through these collaborations, they have developed a uniquely authentic and distinctive sound for which they are known. Specializing in close harmony singing, the quartet has a vibrant energy and a strong connection, which is evident in their engaging performance. They educate as they perform, telling stories about the music and explaining the characteristics and stylistic elements of the traditions in which they sing. Folk musicologist Mary DesRosiers acclaims Windborne for “the purity of their voices, strength of their material, and attention to detail in their arrangements.”